How deep is one's denial?
by Ancr
Summary: Gokudera Hayato never liked Yamamoto Takeshi for obvious reasons. On this particular Valentine's day, he is reminded once again why he "hates" the baseball idiot. : R&R.


**Author's note:** This is the first time I worked with someone to do a fanfic on a totally different manga/anime. It had been fun exchanging sentences during lessons. Opps. Haha. I apologize for the lateness, it was supposed to be published on Valentine's day, but let's say I got a little busy to edit. Happy reading, and do remember to leave your reviews. :)

~8059~

Gokudera Hayato has never liked Yamamoto Takeshi. In fact, he despised the fellow. Just the sight of him was enough to cause his poor heart to disfunction, throbbing…no pounding furiously against his chest. Yamamoto's whole demeanor annoyed him to no ends and his character was distastefully optimistic. Yes, he never liked that idiot.

You see, how likeable can someone this moronic be? Constantly thinking that everything was merely a game, responding to them with a simple "haha!" and a stupid grin on his face. The Storm Guardian irked every single time at the sight of that signature grin, and get so flustered angry that his face would flush red.

The rain guardian was getting too close to the Tenth and that pissed him off to a considerable amount. Sometimes….well, most of the time, he just felt like hammering the head of Yamamoto Takeshi whenever he was with the Tenth. Why couldn't that blockhead understand that he was the Tenth's right hand man? He had to suppress the growing, pent-up bitterness each time that idiot got close to Tenth. Surely they were too close, especially during this morning's event. He growled as he vividly recalled…

"_JY__UDAIME!" He enthusiastically exclaimed as he dashed towards the familiar Sawada household. His hands shot out, grabbing onto the mailbox just in time to prevent him from overshooting. 'Damn inertia', he thought._

"_Good morning, oka-sama!" he greeted politely and waited patiently for the Tenth's mother to let him into the house._

"_Haha Gokudera! You're here early too!" the response was neither from the Tenth nor his mother, but by that idiot. _

_  
'Not as early as you are, moron.' Gokudera silently retorted in his head. He clenched his fist into a tight ball and gritted his teeth, somehow hoping it would reduce the blood flow passing through his cheeks. His muscles stiffened in anticipation as the baseball idiot approached him with an arm outstretched. The moment Yamamoto's fingers brushed lightly across his shoulders, he flinched violently away. The parts where his touch lingered flared uncomfortably. His face was now officially as red as a lobster. Great, just great._

"_Don't touch me, you idiot," he snarled under his breath, backing a good distance away. As Gokudera fumbled with his cigarettes, he noticed the frown the baseball idiot is wearing. He wondered why the frown and felt slightly, just a teeny bit guilty, but shoved it immediately out of his mind. Besides, the smile vanished as soon as their eyes met. He looked away instantly and pretended to find his lighter. That idiot was smiling once more._

"_Are you all right, Gokudera-kun?" Sawada Nana's melodious voice sounded, as she directed a sweet smile towards him (reminding Gokudera of Tenth's). _

"_My, Your face is bright red as a tomato! Oh, Gokudera-kun, maybe you shouldn't be smoking so much!" she giggled, probably thinking of her Iemitsu. And indeed, Gokudera's face was unusually red today. He felt his face burning like the swaying flame ignited by the lighter in his hand._

"_That's right, Gokudera. Smoking is bad for your health," Yamamoto added, producing another smile._

"_Shut up, baseball freak," he snapped at his remark, keeping the lighter and the cigarette back into his pocket full of dynamites. 'Just this one time in front of the Tenth's mother, Yamamoto Takeshi, you won't find me keeping them ever again' _

_Yamamoto's smile seemed to glow more radiantly when he did just that. Gokudera sulked and fiddled with his unused cigarettes inside his pockets. The tenth's mother had gone back into the house to fetch Tsuna. As time crawled by, the urge to smoke was grating on his nerve, and so was Yamamoto and that irritable, somewhat thwarted smile of his. He was saved when the Tenth emerged at the doorway._

"_Jyudaime!" Gokudera rushed towards his beloved boss, ready to pounce on the said person. All negative feelings dispelled at the sight of the Tenth. _

"_Eh…eh…__Gokudera-kun, you're here too…" the brunet noticed the cheeky grin on Yamamoto's face and Gokudera's post-pissed-off-turning-Tenth-is-here-craze-phase look written on his face, as clear as a signboard._

"_Ahh…Yamamoto came over earlier to pass some breakfast his father made… but there aren't any left…"_

"_Haha, don't worry Tsuna! I'll bring more over next time for Gokudera, but if he's still late then it's too bad!" The Rain Guardian __replied, scratching the back of his head (one of the other "annoying" acts that gives Gokudera an adrenaline rush). Just as Gokudera was about to whip out some dynamites to shut the baseball freak up, a certain bratty Thunder Guardian trotted along._

"_WAATSUNA! MORE… MORE SUSHI!" he screamed. Secretly feeling relieved, Gokudera responded with the usual "stupid cow" fight, while feeling good that he was saved from another embarrassing moment. Why, that baseball idiot going so close to the Tenth did bother him, perhaps more than just the "Tenth's too good for you" sense. Perhaps…_

His self-protection mechanism sprang up, cutting off his train of thoughts instantly. He must be thinking way too much for his own good. Reaching into his pocket, Gokudera retrieved his cigarette, eager to satisfy his growing need. Since this morning's incident, he had not touched, let alone smoked a cigarette – a rather remarkable feat. He impatiently took out his lighter. Flicking the mechanism open, he brought the flame towards the stick, but somehow he could not bring himself to light it. He tried once more, but his hand would tremble and quake under the cigarette.

Finally, he wrenched his thumb off the lighter. The horrid words of Yamamoto Takeshi resurfaced in his mind: _Smoking is bad for your health._ Damn him! Frustrated, Gokudera stomped on his cigarettes. Now what? Withdrawal symptoms were gnawing at his mood. His fingers rapped the cigarette box in repetitive motion. Each time he slipped his fingers into the box, Yamamoto's words would come crashing down. Great god, why must he pay such attention to an idiot's advice? He forced himself to pull the whole box out. Now if he could just take a small puff… not. The box tumbled from his hands and flew upwards in the air right into the face of… Yamamoto Takeshi. Wonderful, just the person he dreaded to see, simply wonderful. And what was that big, red, bouncy heap of things in his hand? Gokudera took a closer look.

"Yo, Gokudera!" he smiled, in a less annoying way.

Roses, their deep red colour was a stark contrast to the tall figure's navy blue and white uniform. The soft, bouncy flowers in his hand seemed to be feeling safe with the protection of the Rain Guardian, who was known for his strong build and excellent reflexes. He wondered what it would feel like to be the rose…wait…no, he does not.

"My cigarettes, hand them over,"

Yamamoto blinked.

"This?"

"What else would that be?" Gokudera made a swipe for the box, but was unsuccessful due to the height difference.

"A baseball?" Gokudera spied the evil glint in Yamamoto's eyes.

"No, you don't!" But apparently it was a little too late for the cigarettes disappeared within seconds in the form of a gust of wind.

"Damn you baseball idiot!"

Gokudera cursed, readying his dynamites in an operation to stuff as many of it into the mouth of Yamamoto Takeshi.

"Maa, maa, you can always get a new packet ne?" Yamamoto laid a hand on the hot-tempered guy, while dodging a few sticks flunk straight at him. This simple gesture partly resulted in the horrendous shade of red colouring the rain guardian's cheeks.

"And what's with that thing in your hand?" Gokudera glared at the roses.

"Hm? Aha, these. A group of girls gave them to me, along with these!" He showed the silver-haired teen the contents in his bag. Pink, blue, gold, all sorts of boxes of chocolate shimmered in the dull school bag, all from the avid fangirls of the star baseball player.

"Hmpf," _Today is Valentine's Day again_, Gokudera recalled. Another day when he will be stuck in crowd of crazy girls again, at least for the both of them, feeling all pissed and annoyed by the pushing, screaming and deafening crowd again, feeling all lonely and separated again, feeling all irritated by the swarm of fangirls around Yamamoto again. He scowled at the thought. Speaking of the devil, here they come, their high shrilled voices calling for the both of them. He paled. Instinctively, he made a grab for the nearest person beside him and into the bushes they went.

"Gokudera?"

"Shut up, baseball freak, do you want them to find us?" Gokudera snapped back. He watched as a crowd of girls stampede past them. Heaving a sigh of relief, he turned his head, only to be shocked to find Yamamoto right next to him, their faces barely inches apart. He pulled away.

"W-what the hell are you doin… umph!" His voice was muffled by a hand clamped over his mouth.

"Gokudera would have struggled to whip out his dynamites and swear under his breath, kicking the Rain Guardian as he did… but no. He didn't want the fangirls, or the Tenth, or anyone to come now. You see, it was such a priceles… uh no, critical moment as they were hiding from a crazy mob. His face turned silent as he silently struggled to look pissed, hiding his secret delight.

"Saa, be quiet for now, Gokudera," the tall figure whispered gently into the once again red-faced Smoking Bomb's ear, leaning closer and closer from behind. The world seemed to pause right there for some time, save for some screams from Mochida-senpai's fan club, the "HIEEE! NO, HIBARI-SAN!" from the rooftop and the sound of the two guardians' hearts pounding in time with one anothers'. The tip of his ears flushed red, and his cheeks burned as he felt the warm, sweet-smelling breath move down his face to his neck. The tingling sensation shot a wave of heat up his spine, and his heart throbbed harder. Didn't people always fear what is unfamiliar? This was totally new to Gokudera, but this feeling…… it couldn't be fear. A light brush across his hands as the two of them walked via that long, dingy alley to the Tenth's house every morning, yes, but never this close… never had he felt so dependent on anyone this way. He felt adrenaline pumping through his veins and a myriad of sensations popping up; excitement, apprehension, pleasure, caution, but most of all embarrassment. He was thoroughly embarrassed. Why had he reacted so strongly to a person he absolutely disliked? He was hyperventilating, panting furiously like a dog, totally unlike his usual self. He did not know what to make of it.

"Gokudera…" His voice was unbearably husky. Gokudera went tense.

"They are gone," He blinked once, twice, registering the words of the baseball idiot. "We're safe."

"Is that so, moron?"

"Do you want to stay here longer?"

The dynamite user's eyes widened, and he coughed like it was a reflex to those words. The glare on his face turned to a frown. No, he had not understood that. Was that just plain dumb? Or…

"Come on! We've got to find Tsuna!" Yamamoto grabbed him by his arm and with all his force, swiftly flung both of them out of the bushes. Almost immediately, Gokudera pulled away and brushed the twigs and leaves off his clothes. _Thanks for returning the favour, stupid Yamamoto Takeshi._

"Yes, glad that you know we've still got to take care of Jyudaime…" he stopped at the sound of the commotion at the rooftop, which broke the silence in the otherwise empty school compound. _"No, not that... Hibari-san! NO PLEASE DON'T BITE ME TO DEATH ANYMORE–"_

"… Jyudaime? And the disciplinary jerk…" the trusty right-hand man muttered, wandering deeper into confusion. _Why, since when had Hibari Kyoya turned to the Tenth for sparrings? Well, Tenth has always been strong, but since when was he so smart…_

"VALENTINE'S LOVE TO THE **EXTREME**!!!" the sudden exclaim from behind made him jump and, as he lost balance, he fell onto the nearest figure, pushing him straight onto the ground, and… THUD!

"…?!" Gokudera was puzzled by his landing… no scratches, no injuries, and not much pain. As his vision began to clear, he realized what he was resting on. Or rather, _who_ he was resting on.

"Hahaha! Are you all right, Gokudera?"

"My, Squid-head, I never knew you liked doing push-ups on other people, but that is COOL TO THE EXTREME! I'M GOING TO TRY IT FOR MY EXTREME TRAINING TO THE EXTREME! "

Once again, the red-faced Gokudera gnarled, too agitated to respond.

"Well, Gokudera, you could just tell me if you wanted to do that!"

"Ti Amo…" he muttered unknowingly…

"What?"

"Shut up, you freak. Don't be stupid."

"I don't know Italian if you just used that on me, but that is sure interesting! Haha!"

"…" Gokudera struggled to get off his awkward position, knowing that was the end of his… well… chance?

As Yamamoto tried to repeat those words, they heard the voices of those fangirls again. They were cleverly hidden behind the trees, watching the scene of the two bickering males.

"KYAA~ DIWOAGELADEDA!" their words were too mixed up and loud to even make out, but it was almost certain what they were implying. Groaning, Gokudera gave them a nasty glare, only to trigger another wave of squealing. He finally understood (perhaps) that unfamiliar and unusually strong feeling he just had. It had to be embarrassment.

"Tee Ahmo?"

_**I hate you, Yamamoto Takeshi.**_

~8059~

**Ending note**: HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!


End file.
